


I hope you had the time of your life

by emmerrr



Series: Only Fools Rush In [12]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Canon, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, featuring ronan and adam's canon inability to communicate like rational human beings, in that ronan actually goes to adam's graduation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 16:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11833023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmerrr/pseuds/emmerrr
Summary: [God, he had hated school. He still hated it, even though it was now months since he had officially dropped out. And this, he feared — he could admit it silently to himself when there was no one else around — would forever be a fundamental roadblock in his relationship with Adam. School would always be a contentious issue between them, no matter how much they pretended it wasn’t.Adam was going to leave, and Ronan was going to stay.]It's Adam's graduation day. Ronan wrestles with whether or not to go.





	I hope you had the time of your life

**Author's Note:**

> *disclaimer -- I played it pretty fast and loose with how graduations actually tend to go so please forgive me. also I only have the very barest ideas of what a valedictorian actually is because we don't really have them in the UK I don't think, so my only knowledge pretty much comes from gilmore girls.
> 
> and yes, I did name it after that green day song aka the most often used graduation song ever (I'm so basic, I know)

Ronan allowed his phone to ring out and go to voicemail four times with Gansey’s number flashing across the display before he finally deigned to answer. The only reason it didn’t take more times was because he knew that Adam would be with Gansey, and there was a possibility that it was Adam trying to get in touch instead. When Ronan clicked the accept button, however, it was neither.

“ _Finally_ ,” Blue snapped in exasperation. “How hard is it to answer on the first try, honestly? What if it had been an emergency?”

“Is it?” Ronan replied.

Blue’s pause was telling, and Ronan couldn’t help but grin when she petulantly said, “No. But that’s not the point.”

“It’s always so lovely to hear from you, Sargent,” Ronan said sweetly, knowing Blue would pick up on the sarcasm with no trouble at all. “Why do you have Gansey’s phone?”

“Safe keeping. There’s no pockets in his graduation robe. Speaking of, where _are_ you?”

“I’m around.” It was a vague enough response to piss Blue off but it also wasn’t a lie, and so it suited Ronan just fine. He was, in fact, sitting in the BMW in the Aglionby carpark, watching people walk past in their Sunday best as they headed on into the graduation ceremony.

Gansey, Adam and Henry would all be in there preparing themselves for a shit-load of pomp and circumstance, ass-kissing speeches and lies about how high-school was the greatest time of their lives before having to wait an age for their names to be called so they could walk across the stage and grab their diplomas.

It was a fucking farce.

“Ronan _Lynch_ , it starts in twenty minutes, and you _cannot_ abandon me to sit through this whole thing with Gansey’s _entire_ family all on my own,” Blue hissed. “Not to mention it’s the graduation of your best friends. I’m sure Adam wa—”

“Sargent,” Ronan interrupted in a bored tone. “You’re starting to piss me off.”

“Likewise!” Blue snapped, and hung up before Ronan could get the satisfaction of doing it himself.

What Blue had been about to say was obvious; some variant of _I’m sure Adam wants you to be there_ , and honestly, Ronan didn’t want to hear it. Mainly because he didn’t have a response that didn’t make him look like a jackass.

(Not that he was usually opposed to being thought of as a jackass, per se, just that it was newly starting to bother him that he’d be seen as such when it came to anything regarding Adam. It was infuriating.)

The thing was, Adam hadn’t even actually asked Ronan if he would go. He seemed to have been making a point of _not_ asking.

Ronan wasn’t sure whose benefit it was for.

* * *

 

On a cold January night at the Barns, Adam sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace, a blanket draped over his shoulders and his homework spread out on the floor before him. The only reason he was doing it at the Barns and not at St. Agnes was because the heat was out in the tiny apartment, and Ronan had finally convinced him by pointing out that he’d be able to think better if he wasn’t freezing to death.

“ _Fine_ , Ronan,” Adam had said into the phone. “But I really need to get this done, okay? No distractions.”

“Cross my heart, Parrish. Now get in your little shitbox and come over. I have hot chocolate.”

So Adam had arrived, hunkered down in front of the fire with his books, and got to work. Ronan brought him hot drinks and homemade brownies and left him to it, content to run around after Opal until she tuckered herself out.

Once Opal had fallen asleep, however, Ronan found himself bored and craving Adam’s attention, even more so when he was right there and seemingly oblivious to Ronan’s presence.

Their relationship, such as it was, was still relatively new and they were in the process of trying to struggle through how best to make time for each other. It meant that the ball was pretty much in Adam’s court. He was juggling the pressures of his senior year, college applications, his jobs, _and_ Ronan.

Ronan knew that school was important, but now that he no longer went, he somehow resented it even more for taking up so much of Adam’s time.

When the fire finally started to die out, Ronan decided Adam had done enough for the night. He padded over and nudged Adam’s knee with his foot. Adam shot him a quick glare and then continued taking notes.

“Come on, Adam. You’ve been at it for hours. You need to get some sleep.”

“Ronan,” Adam sighed, exasperated, and rubbed at his tired eyes with the heel of his hand. “Yeah, I do, but I need to finish this first.”

“You’re gonna burn yourself out. Plus you’ve been ignoring me all night and I haven’t seen you for three fucking days.”

“I _said_ when I agreed to come over that I couldn’t have any distractions,” Adam snapped. “Didn’t I?”

Irritation, unbidden but unavoidable crawled its way up Ronan’s throat and spilled out of his mouth. “You’re right. You did. And I have done nothing to distract you since you got here—” he looked at his watch, “—four and a half hours ago. You need. To take. A fucking. Break.”

Adam paused, then slowly put down his notebook. “Has it really been four and a half hours?” he asked.

“Yes. _Fuck_ , Parrish, it’s after midnight.”

“Oh, shit.” Adam started gathering his things. “I should go.”

“Adam, no, I’m not asking you to leave. The whole idea was that you’d stay here, St. Agnes will be too cold tonight, you won’t get any sleep.”

“I have school in the morning, and if I’m here I’ll have to leave earlier, and my shitty car always takes longer to start in the cold, and that’s if it starts at _all_ —”

“So I’ll drive you. Or you can just take my car.”

Adam frowned. “You’d drive me to school?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

Adam shrugged. “I dunno, you just. . . you haven’t even stepped foot on campus since you dropped out. I thought you were avoiding it.”

That gave Ronan pause. He hadn’t really thought about it; there was no reason for him to go near Aglionby anymore. If he met Adam after school it was either at St. Agnes or Monmouth. Now that Adam gave him a reason to think about it, Ronan found he really didn’t want to have to go there again.

Adam seemed to read it on Ronan’s face and he got to his feet. “Alright,” he said. “If the shitbox doesn’t start in the morning, I’ll take the BMW. If that’s okay.”

Ronan nodded quickly, glad that Adam was both staying and that he wouldn’t have to set foot on the Aglionby campus. “Yeah, Parrish. Course it is. Now let’s go to bed, I’m knackered.”

After that, Aglionby became a topic that was mostly avoided. And it suited Ronan just fine.

* * *

 

With five minutes left to go until the graduation ceremony was due to officially start, Ronan was still sitting in his car, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

Go inside, or go home. These were Ronan’s choices, and it didn’t need to be a difficult decision. Adam hadn’t asked him to come. Adam wasn’t _expecting_ him to come. So Ronan could very easily just start the engine, go back to the Barns and see what sort of ruckus Opal was managing to get up to in his absence.

_Or._

He could get out of the car and go inside. Find Blue, rescue her from Gansey’s well-meaning but over-bearing family, and spend the next however long in a too crowded room just so he could see Adam get handed a piece of fucking paper.

Even just being on Aglionby grounds was suffocating. So many wasted hours spent here, so many arguments with Declan about Ronan’s ‘directionless future’, so many disappointed looks from Gansey when Ronan waltzed in late and disorderly.

He didn’t want to think about the Latin classroom in particular, where he had spent countless lessons being unknowingly taught by the man who had murdered Noah, followed by being brought face to face with the man who had ordered his father’s murder. Ronan realised this wasn’t typical of everyone’s learning experience, but it left a bad taste in his mouth regardless.

It hadn’t been all bad, in fairness. Adam had been there, at least. A light in the darkness, a distraction to break up the monotony, something else to look at when looking out of the window and longing to be free became too much. Of course, looking at Adam brought on a longing of a different kind, but Ronan had always been good at torturing himself.

God, he had hated school. He _still_ hated it, even though it was now months since he had officially dropped out. And this, he feared — he could admit it silently to himself when there was no one else around — would forever be a fundamental roadblock in his relationship with Adam. School would always be a contentious issue between them, no matter how much they pretended it wasn’t.

Adam was going to leave, and Ronan was going to stay.

 _He’s coming back. He’s coming back._ Ronan repeated it like a mantra in his mind.

He knocked his temple against the window and peered out at the last few stragglers hurrying across the carpark so they could take their seats on time. He let out a long puff of air, enough to steam up part of the window, and in the condensation he wrote ‘FUCK YOU’ with his finger-tip; backwards, so it would read properly from the outside. Satisfied with his handiwork, he smirked and leaned back in his seat.

His phone vibrated with an incoming message and Ronan checked it purely for something to do. Unsurprisingly, it was from Gansey’s phone which would still be in Blue’s possession.

— _just for the record i think you’re being unreasonable. and an asshole and a jerk. i know you hate this place but c’mon man._

A couple of seconds later, an addition buzzed through.

— _saved you a seat if you change your mind._

Ronan clicked out of the messages without replying and checked the time. He had two minutes to get there if he didn’t want to be officially late.

But then again he’d never been particularly punctual when he was an actual student here. Another few minutes wouldn’t hurt.

* * *

 

“Parrish,” Ronan said, just on the verge of a laugh, “how the ever-loving fuck did _Tad Carruthers_ match your GPA?”

Adam shrugged. “I imagine he studied. He has been spending a lot of time in the library.”

“Oh, I wonder fucking why,” Ronan said, and he burst out laughing.

Adam scrunched up his face, clearly annoyed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ronan rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Adam, you must have noticed how he is around you. You’re Hermione, and he’s Viktor Krum. He was in the library because _you_ were in the library.”

Adam’s jaw went slack, and he blinked then shook his head. “I’m sorry, did you just make a Harry Potter reference?”

“No need to sound so surprised, Parrish. I’ve read Harry Potter.”

Adam grinned. “Wow, Lynch. Hidden depths.”

“Fuck off.” Ronan scowled, only serving to make Adam smile wider. Which in turn made it harder to keep scowling.

They were sitting on the steps outside Monmouth, taking a break from building an obstacle course for a skateboard in the carpark. Well, _Ronan_ was taking a break from doing that. Adam was keeping him company in the hour of down-time he had between one job and the next.

“What does that mean for you, anyway? About Tad.” Ronan asked once Adam’s smile had receded into something more neutral.

“It means that there’s two valedictorians — me and Tad.”

“They didn’t make you joust each other for the honour, then?”

Adam snorted. “ _God_ , no. Although now that you mention it, I’m surprised they didn’t. That or some other fancy game that I’d have to bluff my way through in case they figured out I don’t belong.”

His tone was flippant but Ronan knew him too well to not pick up on the bitterness underneath. He nudged his shoulder into Adam’s gently. “Hey, I wouldn’t bet against you.”

Adam leaned into Ronan, just for a moment. “Thanks, Ronan.” He sat up straight and smiled again. “I won’t have to give a speech at graduation, at least. They said we could decide amongst ourselves who got to do it and I, uh, magnanimously conceded.”

Ronan grinned sharply. “Didn’t feel like telling everyone how great your time at Aglionby has been and how much you’re going to miss them all?”

Adam went silent for longer than was comfortable and Ronan got the sinking feeling that he’d crossed a hidden line without meaning to. Adam’s relationship with Aglionby was a messy, complicated thing, a means to a necessary end that Adam had worked himself to the bone over, day after day after day.

“The people I’ll miss know who they are,” Adam said at last, without looking at Ronan. “I’d rather not have to stand up in front of the entire school staff and student body and their families and have to lie about how much Aglionby meant to me.” Then he shook his head, frustrated. “But fuck, it _does_ mean a lot to me. I hated it but I loved it and going there gave me the opportunity to get to where I want to be.”

“Adam—”

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Ronan. You don’t want to hear this stuff. It’s not important.”

Ronan was about to vehemently rebuke this because it clearly fucking _was_ and he very much _did_ want to hear about it, but Adam hurriedly got to his feet. “I gotta go or I’m gonna be late.” He leaned down to give Ronan a swift kiss and then took off, getting into the tri-coloured Hondayota and driving it out of the carpark, taking great care not to bump into the makeshift ramp Ronan had made for his obstacle course.

Ronan knocked his head against the wall, and then he punched it, enough to scuff his knuckles and make them bleed. He cursed his inability to use his words, but it was always like this whenever school came up for longer than a passing anecdote. Adam clammed up because he thought Ronan didn’t care, when the truth was just that Ronan didn’t know what to say. School and work were important to Adam in a way they’d never been to Ronan — he didn’t want to undermine that, or belittle it unintentionally.

Everything seemed so fragile.

Feet coming down the steps roused Ronan out of his thoughts and he half turned to see Gansey take the seat Adam had vacated a couple of minutes earlier.

“Adam gone already?” he asked.

“You just missed him.”

“Oh that’s a sh— _Ronan!_ Your _hand!”_ Gansey seized Ronan’s wrist and looked over his knuckles with an expression of deep concern. “What did you do?”

“I punched the wall,” Ronan said. “It’s fine. Doesn’t hurt.”

“Jesus, Ronan. You and Adam fight?”

“No.”

Gansey regarded him for a minute and then got to his feet. “Come on. I’ll clean that up for you.”

Having lost the motivation to continue his obstacle course and with a lack of reasons to refuse, Ronan followed Gansey back upstairs and into Monmouth. Gansey had him sit on the toilet seat while he rummaged through the medicine cabinet for some disinfectant and a bandage.

Gansey chattered away as he worked, Ronan letting the words wash over him and only really registering what was being said on the basest of levels. He heard Blue’s and Henry’s names being mentioned and assumed Gansey was talking about plans for their upcoming trip, which was something else Ronan had to prepare himself for, as much as he tried to appear unaffected. He and Gansey had been a little team of two for so long. Their group had expanded, a fact that Ronan was now glad about — hindsight was a wonderful thing — but very occasionally he would still catch himself feeling wistful of the days when it was just him and Gansey against the world.

Everything had gone to shit as it so often tended to do, but for at least a little while, life had been remarkably simple. Gansey and Ronan on a quest for a King.

“Gansey,” Ronan said, interrupting Gansey mid-sentence as he applied the finishing touches to Ronan’s bandage. “When’s graduation?”

Gansey frowned. “It’s next Thursday. Didn’t Adam tell you?” But then he gasped and continued before Ronan had to admit that no, Adam hadn’t divulged that information yet. “Ronan! Are you going to come?” His surprised smile was bright and endearing and sent a spike of guilt up Ronan’s spine. Adam wasn’t the only one graduating.

“Keep your hair on, Gansey, I just asked when it was.”

“Oh,” Gansey said, smile slipping just a smidge. But he was nothing if not a trooper. “Well, like I said, it’s next Thursday. Starts at 11 in the auditorium.”

Ronan nodded but didn’t respond. He was painfully aware of Gansey’s eyes on him but didn’t want to lift his head to meet them and instead fiddled with his bandage.

“It would be nice,” Gansey said quietly after the silence had dragged too long. “If you could make it, that is. I can’t — I can’t quite relate to what it was like for you there, but I can imagine, and so I understand if you can’t go. But if you can? Well. . . it would be nice. For me. And for Adam as well.”

Ronan sighed expansively. “I might have to clear my fucking schedule, and I’m not promising anything,” he said, “but I _might_ be able to make it. If I’m free.” He already knew he was free; it was one of the perks of doing whatever the fuck he wanted.

Gansey smiled. “That’s all I ask.”

* * *

 

The clock on the BMW dashboard ticked over to 11:02 and Ronan sat straighter. Officially late. Well, good. He had a reputation to uphold.

Ronan wasn’t a big fan of regret; it wasn’t something he wanted to carry around with him. And if he decided not to go in, he might not regret it today or tomorrow or a month from now, but one day, probably. One day when he went to Adam’s university graduation, or beyond then, he might look back and wish that he’d been there. To see, firsthand, how far Adam had come.

He knew already, of course. But that didn’t really seem like it was the point right now.

Ronan opened the car door and stepped out, slamming it shut. Then he re-opened it and slammed it again, just because he liked the noise it made.

“Fuck it,” he said to the carpark, no one but the ostentatious Aglionby cars to hear him. (He pointedly ignored the fact that his car was just as obviously an ostentatious Aglionby car.) “Let’s do this.”

* * *

 

Adam had shown up at the Barns unannounced the night before graduation, which was a surprise in more ways than one, not least because Adam _never_ showed up unannounced.

“Parrish?” Ronan asked when he opened the door to see Adam lingering over the threshold. “Why are you here? Is there an impending disaster? Bodies to bury?”

“Not that I know of,” Adam said, smiling tiredly. “And last time I checked, burying bodies was _your_  thing.” He shrugged. “I just wanted to see you.”

“And who could blame you,” Ronan said sagely, pulling the door wider so Adam could get past. He noticed the rucksack over Adam’s shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “An overnight bag? Bit presumptuous, Parrish. Trying to corrupt me?”

Adam stepped up flush against Ronan, kissed him and said, “Shut up, Ronan,” against his lips.

Ronan grinned sharply and kissed Adam back, crowding him up against the wall. They sprang apart a too-short moment later when the clitter-clatter of tiny hooves scurried across the hardwood floors, and Opal announced her presence by skidding around the corner and into view, precociously demanding, “Who was at the door?” Her eyes lit up when she saw who was here. “Adam!” She rushed forward and grabbed his hand then started dragging him down the hall, no doubt taking him to see the den she’d made for herself that afternoon.

“Easy, brat, he just got here. Give him some room.”

Adam flashed Ronan an easy smile and something like warmth, or overwhelming affection flooded through Ronan. It was such an acute reminder that Adam was now in a place where smiles _could_ come easily, and that Ronan was so often on the receiving end.

He was so in love. Doomed for an eternity, but a sentence he was more than willing to carry out.

He trailed after Opal and Adam into the living room and they spent the next couple of hours in there, playing games until Opal completely conked out in her den.

“Should we carry her up to bed?” Adam whispered.

“Nah. She’s fine in there.”

Adam nodded and then yawned, and Ronan checked the time to see that it was nearly 1am. “It’s late. C’mon, Parrish, let’s get you to bed. Big day tomorrow.”

Adam froze almost imperceptibly just for a fraction of a second before he forcibly relaxed again. He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

Ronan let out a tiny huff of irritation but Adam missed it as he got to his feet, and Ronan wondered if it was perhaps for the best. They’d been dancing around the issue of graduation, just like they danced around the issue of school. And Adam was clearly tired and Ronan didn’t want to start a fight so he bit his tongue. Adam was here now, and that was the important thing.

Adam went upstairs to get ready for bed while Ronan made sure everything was locked up downstairs, got some water and turned off all the lights.

He detoured to the bathroom to brush his teeth and by the time he got to his room to get into bed, Adam was already pretty much asleep. He roused a little bit when Ronan slipped under the covers, his eyes flickering a little as he edged closer, draping an arm over Ronan’s waist and nudging his face into his shoulder.

“Mm. . . comfy,” he mumbled.

Ronan chuckled softly. “Go to sleep, Parrish. Get your beauty rest.”

“Yep. For my big day.” Adam’s eyes were closed again, jaw starting to go slack. “Was never sure if I’d make it this far. Pretty proud of myself.” He trailed off and no other words were forthcoming, but it was the most Adam had said about graduating in Ronan’s presence in weeks.

“Do you want me to be there, Adam?” Ronan whispered into the dark. “Do you want me to come?”

Adam didn’t respond, and Ronan thought he was being silently rebuked until he realised that Adam’s breathing had completely evened out, the tell-tale sign of someone who was well and truly asleep.

Ronan sighed and gently pulled Adam closer.

When he woke up in the morning, Adam had already gone, leaving a post-it note on his pillow that simply said he’d see Ronan later; no other details.

Ronan groaned and rolled over onto his front, burying his face into his pillow. It wasn’t yet 9am — Ronan still had over two hours to agonize over what to do.

To go or not to go. That was the fucking question.

* * *

 

The auditorium doors had already been closed when Ronan reached them, which meant that when he pushed them open they made an obnoxiously loud creaking noise, and everyone in the back five or so rows turned to look at him.

Ronan wasn’t so late that anything important had happened yet. Headmaster Child was clearly in the middle of a speech that Ronan had interrupted, and as the podium faced the doors, he bore witness to Ronan’s entrance and he paused. Ronan lifted his hand in a sarcastic salute and quickly scanned the audience, looking for Blue.

He didn’t immediately see her but he heard a hissed, _“Ronan!”_ and turned his head towards it. Blue was sitting a few rows up from where he was standing and gesturing to him furiously. He stalked over and took his seat next to her on the end of the aisle.

Child cleared his throat and continued droning on.

“Cutting it a bit fine, Ronan,” Blue said out of the corner of her mouth.

“You know me, Sargent, I love to make an entrance.”

Blue rolled her eyes mightily, but when she glanced back at him her expression softened. “Seriously. I’m glad you’re here.”

Someone from the row behind shushed them but Blue turned around and glared them into submission. Ronan had to cover his mouth to suppress the laugh that was trying to escape.

Helen, sitting on Blue’s other side, leaned around Blue to speak to Ronan. “Thought you weren’t coming,” she whispered, then took in Ronan’s outfit and raised one perfect eyebrow. “You couldn’t have worn a tie?”

Ronan looked down as if surprised to not be wearing one. He shrugged. “Must have misplaced it.”

This time they were shushed by Mrs. Gansey and they fell into silence.

Ronan spent the entirety of Child’s speech searching the sea of cobalt blue graduation caps to see if he could spot Adam or Gansey, but he was too far back to pick anyone specific out with the sole exception of Henry, and that was only because he wasn’t wearing his cap, instead choosing to twirl it around and around his finger. He clearly didn’t want to mess up his hair, and Ronan bit down on another laugh.

Once Child had finished, someone else stood up to give the commencement address — some ancient old dude that Ronan had never heard of or seen before — and it dragged on for nearly eleven minutes. Ronan timed it.

After that, finally, all the graduates stood up and their names started to get called to walk the stage, shake a hand and collect their diplomas. It was in alphabetical order so it would be a little while before Adam’s name was called.

When it was Tad Carruthers' turn, he hurried across the stage with such enthusiasm that he stumbled over his gown and nearly fell — even Mrs Gansey had snorted a laugh at that.

Henry had perched his cap as gingerly on his perfectly spiked hair as possible when he collected his piece of paper, and despite being told to hold their applause until the end, Ronan and Blue both wolf-whistled as Henry dramatically moved his toggle to the left.

Gansey got an even bigger cheer, because Helen and his parents joined in, unable to resist. Gansey looked every inch the charming graduate, magnanimous smile and firm handshake, along with a modest glance to his own personal cheering squad.

Blue laughed. “What a nerd,” she said, but she sounded too fond. Ronan wasn’t fooled.

Eventually they reached the P’s, and Adam was the first to be called, and as he made his way across the stage Ronan was abruptly relieved that he had come. His opinions about school hadn’t changed, he still thought the ceremony was a boring farce and didn’t particularly care about what it represented. But today wasn’t about him and what he thought about graduation. It was about Adam, and Adam was why Ronan had come. So that Adam had someone in the audience to witness his achievements. Someone there just for him.

Ronan had risen to his feet without really thinking about it, ignoring Blue’s hushed attempts to get him to sit back down as he clapped and whistled.

“Oh, jeez,” Blue muttered, resigned as she too got to her feet and clapped. And then Helen joined in, never one to shy away from a scene. Just like that, Adam had his own private standing ovation.

He collected his diploma and flickered his eyes over to the source of the commotion — which was, to say, Ronan — and when he caught sight of Ronan he grinned and waved, before hurrying on over to the other side of the stage when the next name was called.

Ronan, Blue and Helen all sat back down, and as Helen was chastised by her parents for making a spectacle, Blue nudged Ronan in the ribs with her bony little elbow.

“You look proud, Lynch,” she said smugly.

“I _am_ proud. Why shouldn’t I be?” He smirked down at Blue. “ _My_ boyfriend’s valedictorian.”

Blue scowled but without any malice.

From that point on, it was another wait for everyone else's names to finish getting called, after which Adam and Tad Carruthers were both announced as joint valedictorians and Tad came up to the podium to give his speech, which was full of predictable clichés about valuable life lessons learned at Aglionby, friends made, and well wishes for the future.

Mercifully, after that it was over and all the graduates filed out. Ronan followed Blue and Gansey’s family out to the cafeteria where a basic celebratory finger-food spread had been provided whilst everyone waited for the new graduates to re-emerge.

“This is the most pretentious buffet I have ever seen,” Blue remarked distastefully. “It’s all vol-au-vents and sushi. Where’s the mini pizzas?”

“This is Aglionby, Sargent. I wouldn’t hold your breath.” Ronan glanced around as more and more people made their way into the cafeteria and immediately started to feel pinned in. He put a hand on Blue’s shoulder. “I’m just gonna step out for a minute,” he said. Blue frowned, but nodded, clearly able to tell that he needed some air.

He made his way out of the cafeteria as quickly as possible without actually breaking into a run, and turned down a couple of corridors until he found one that was utterly deserted. It also happened to be the one that Adam’s locker was in, and Ronan leaned against it, dropping his head back and closing his eyes, letting the cool metal soothe him.

“I thought I was hallucinating,” Adam’s voice sounded a moment later, and Ronan's eyes sprang open. He hadn’t heard Adam’s approach, but he stood in front of Ronan now, sans cap and gown and expression inscrutable. “Ronan Lynch in the halls of Aglionby.”

Ronan smiled, all teeth. He knew his lines here. “Is this a real conversation, Parrish?”

Adam stood stoic for a moment before a giddy smile spread across his face and he stepped forward, eyes shining as he clutched the front of Ronan’s t-shirt.

“You came,” he said.

“Yeah, well. I heard Tad Carruthers was giving a speech, so. . .”

Adam huffed a laugh and playfully punched Ronan’s arm. “Asshole.” Ronan wrapped an arm around Adam’s waist and leaned his forehead against Adam’s. “I knew you’d come,” Adam said.

“ _How?_ I didn’t even know.”

Adam shrugged. “Guess I know you better than _you_ do.” He leaned closer into Ronan and nuzzled his face into the space between Ronan’s shoulder and neck. He really had been incredibly affectionate over the last couple of days, not that Ronan was even remotely close to complaining.

“Hey,” Ronan said, “why didn’t you ask me if I was going to come?”

“I don’t know,” Adam admitted quietly. “I invited my parents.”

“You _what?”_ Ronan eased Adam back gently so that he could look at his face. _“Why?”_

“I wanted to put the invitation out there. See if there’s anything salvageable. I dunno, I sort of wanted to see if they’re willing to do. . . _anything_ , when it comes to me.”

“They didn’t come,” Ronan said. It wasn’t a question; he hadn’t seen them in there and he definitely would have noticed.

Adam laughed with little real humour. “Of course they didn’t. I wasn’t really expecting them to.”

Ronan rubbed Adam’s back. His anger at Adam’s parents never really went away but it was admittedly easier to deal with when he didn’t have to actually _see_ them. It was probably a good thing they hadn’t shown up. “I can’t believe you invited them and not _me,_ ” he said, trying not to sound like a petulant toddler.

“I didn’t _have_ to invite you,” Adam said, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Ronan’s mouth. “Here you are.”

“Parrish.”

“I’m sorry. I just, I know how you feel about this place and I know it’s not easy for you to be here and I just didn’t want to put any pressure on you, I guess.”

“How very noble of you,” Ronan said. “In future though, just so you know, you can fucking ask me to go anywhere you want me to. I’d do it for you. You know I would.”

Adam looked at his feet. “I know that. I think I know that.”

“Jesus, Adam. You’re right, this school stuff, it’s not important to me, and I don’t really give a shit. But it’s important to _you_ , and you’re important to _me_. Get it?” He tilted Adam’s chin up with his finger-tips, and Adam took the opportunity to lean forward and capture Ronan’s lips in a brief kiss.

“I get it,” he said when he moved his face back. “I think we need to work on our communication.”

“Uh huh,” Ronan said. “Which will go a lot better when you stop trying to distract me with kisses.”

Adam smiled. “Ah, but Lynch, it works so well.”

“You’re a fucking _menace_ ,” Ronan said, chasing after Adam’s lips for another kiss.

“Ronan!” a shout came from down the corridor, effectively putting an end to what Ronan was sure would have been a really good make-out session up against Adam’s locker.

“Can’t get a minute's fucking peace around here,” he muttered, but it was hard to be mad when he looked up to see Gansey’s beaming face bounding down towards them, Henry in tow.

“I’m so glad you made it!” Gansey said when he and Henry drew level.

“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Ronan said, surprised to find he actually meant it. Adam’s hand found his own and Ronan gave it a quick squeeze.

“Yes, yes, it’s great to see you, Lynch,” Henry said. “Quick question though, how’s my hair? Those caps are a nightmare.”

“It looks the same as always, Henry, I already _told_ you,” Gansey said.

“You could just be lying to spare my feelings. Be honest. Lynch?”

“I dunno, Cheng, one of your spikes looks a little crooked.”

Henry’s face dropped. “I knew it. I _knew_ it. I’ll be right back, you guys go ahead.” He turned tail and hurried off to the bathroom.

Gansey shook his head in exasperation and then turned back to Ronan and Adam. “Where’s Jane?”

“She’s still in the cafeteria,” Ronan said.

“You left her with my family _alone?”_ All of the colour drained from Gansey’s face. “Oh dear. We better go and rescue her. Or them, depending on which way this goes.” He looked at Ronan again and seemed to notice what Ronan was wearing for the first time. “Oh, Ronan. You couldn’t have at least worn a tie?”

Ronan couldn’t believe this. The second Gansey to say that to him in an hour.

“No, I fucking couldn’t. Be thankful that I saw fit to wear my cleanest pair of jeans.”

“Can’t say fairer than that,” Adam said, tone endlessly fond.

They set off down the corridor back towards the cafeteria, Ronan in the middle, and he draped his arms over Adam’s and Gansey’s shoulders.

“Well, congratu-fucking-lations, graduates. Now let’s go find Blue and Henry and get the fuck out of this shithole.”

Gansey looked scandalised, but Adam laughed, the merriment of it ringing down the otherwise empty corridor.

“Amen to that.”


End file.
